Knot ID

Is this a misprint in the book "Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide" published by Mountaineers Books?

As far as I can tell, the knot shown is a Double Loop Figure Eight misidentified as a Double Bowline on a Bight. Incidentally the double loop figure eight is shown on the previous page with different photos.

-Glenn

I'd agree with you that it's a misprint. I wouldn't call it a Double Loop Figure Eight though. If anything, it appears to be a Double Loop Overhand. To get the Double Loop Bowline they were trying to tie, you need to actually pull that bight of rope all the way through the loop in step B, and then pass the bight over the whole knot. Even with this modification, it takes a little manipulation of the knot to end up with the correct finished product. There is an easier method that more closely resembles tying a bowline. If I have time later, I might post some photos.

As an aside, I think the name "Bowline on a Bight" that it gives as an "aka" is misleading. The Bowline has so many variations that the names become confusing, but I tend to see "Bowline on a Bight" used to represent the one that is tied by taking a bight of rope and tying a bowline in a normal fashion. This results in a bowline with two strands in all portions of the knot, and if adjusted properly, can actually provide three usable loops. Again, pictures might help this discussion, but I've been procrastinating my homework long enough...

That knot may be identified correctly, Here is how to tie a double loop figure 8

animatedknots.com/fig8loopd…

This knot is called a Bowline upon a bight.

There is yet another knot which is different from (yet similar to) this and the Bowline on a bight which is known as the Bowline with a bight.

Have fun!

Oh, and I would not recommend the Bowline upon a bight in an application where the two loops are not loaded in parallel. Use a Double Loop Figure-8 or a Bowline on a bight.

Bobby Hanson wrote:This knot is called a Bowline upon a bight.

Wow, good call.

With a bowline on a bite, you feed the end of the bite through the hole, then eat the whole shebang. For the knot above, you feed a bite from the original loop through the hole, then eat that with the end of the loop. Subtle difference, but, ends up being pretty different looking when dressed.

Yeah, looks like a weird double overhand loop.

Hmmm...

That's not a bowline of any sort. It's a variation of an overhand on a bight with a double loop. Look at the first illustration.

This is funny

I followed the steps and I also think it's nothing like a bowline in any aspect. I looked at it in the book too and I think that it's likely it was supposed to say overhand instead of bowline. For example for Step C it says, "Flop the overhand loop over the rest of the knot." My thoughts.

Eli Kramer wrote:That's not a bowline of any sort. It's a variation of an overhand on a bight with a double loop. Look at the first illustration.

Now I think you are totally right. For some reason, when I tied the knot in question earlier in the afternoon, I came out with a Bowline upon a bight. I stand corrected.

Seems to me like a lot of Eagle scouts are not going to be getting their merit badge for knots...

http://www.animatedknots.com/bowlinebight/index.php
That is a link to a nice animation of a bowline on a bight - definitely a different knot than the one illustrated here. This thread took me back to the first real climbing lessons I took in 1976 in Telluride. Unbelievably we used the bowline on a bight at top rope stations. One end went to the anchor (a tree typically) one loop went around your waist, the other loop went over one shoulder and the long end went down to the climber below. We then used a hip belay to bring up the climber. We tied in with another, much scarier, bowline; the bowline on a coil. That seems particularly sketchy to me today in comparison with modern harnesses.